The Two Reasons of the Popularity of Instagram
The Two Reasons
of the Popularity of Instagram
Instagram is one of the most popular social
media in the world. It is an application in which it lets its users to share
their photos or moments in their lives through this application. As what other
application functioned, this app can be accessed easily through Internet connection
in any devices, such as laptop, computer, or even the users’ cellphones. The
word Instagram itself derived from the word “insta” which means “instant”, it
is just like a polaroid camera well known as instant photo. In line with it,
instagram can also show any pictures instantly. Meanwhile, the term “gram” itself
is derived from the word “telegram” in which the principal of telegram itself is
to send any information to others fast. This is in line with Instagram which
can upload and access photo through internet connection fast. Instagram itself was
published in 2010 by Burbn Company but it was taken in 2012 by another company
by paying it to the previous owner. The wearers of Instagram always add year by
year. Instagram has been familiar in society for two reasons. The first one is it
is as a media for many users in selling and buying a lot of stuff easily. The
second one is it is as a media to share their pictures.
The
First reason of its popularity is Instagram becomes a good media in doing
selling and buying activities. The users argue that they can use Instagram as a
good tool to do these activities. They can promote their products freely to all
their followers or even to all the users of Instagram who can find their
accounts through this app easily. This thing can help the online sellers of Instagram
in finding a lot of customers, and for the clients, they can easily find
anything that they want by searching any stuff in the search engine or by using
hashtag. It helps the users to do their activities in terms of selling and
buying easily without meeting the seller like what they need to if they purchase
it directly. Moreover, the online transactions are not done face-to-face, but
buyers just need to transfer the money through banking. For instance, making an
online shop account related to phone accessory will help the online seller to
promote their products, and it makes the online buyers easily to get what they
need. According to a survey held by JackPat in the beginning of 2016, stalking
online shop will be the highest activity of the users of Instagram. There were
about more than 50% from 100%. It was around 53% from 100%. Not only that, when
the users were asked whether they followed virtual shop account or not, 56.2%
from 100 users answered yes. The percentage itself can be seen thoroughly by seeing
the picture in the third page. it is in the first point which indicates the
percentage related to stalking online shop through Instagram;
To be specific, the researcher focuses on apparel or
fashion online shops in Instagram because this industry is still growing and
has big opportunities. Based on Instagram online shop survey which is held in
Indonesia, 52.51% of total online shops sold apparel products (Shabrina, 2015).
This survey shows that apparel industry is a big market sold via online, especially
in Indonesia where there is a big opportunity of social network phenomena.
In line with the previous research, a
study held by Jasmine , Christy, and Cheung
(2017) discovered that on Instagram the enhancement number of
virtual store have been available on Instagram. The way to do it is easy:
wearers just need to log in an account, share the example images or products
and the explanations about it, and boost their adherents to purchase online.
Leaving orders through the posts or by reaching the store owner using messenger
apps, for instance We Chat, Whats App, or Line are some ways of the clients in
indicating that they feel attracted in the products from certain online shop.
PayPal and other usual ways are made by the customers in doing the payment. A
current shopping trend according to most buyers is represented on Instagram in
selling items in actual shop, and purchase judgement on Instagram related to
consumers’ trust has been a critical issue.
Another reason of its
popularity is as a media for sharing the users’ pictures or moments during
their lives. Here, the wearers can share all their special moments in their
lives through their accounts to all their followers in Instagram itself. Therefore,
by distributing their moments, it gives a big possibility to find the users’
relatives which they never meet before or their relatives or even old friends whom
they have been lost contact for a long time unexpectedly. For example, someone
who likes to travel or to go somewhere can share their unforgettable moments
and show it and even save it in their Instagram account as log as they want.
Another example is that there will be many accounts which are going to be
appeared in the explorer of the wearers’ accounts in which they are not the
ones who are in following status with them, but sometimes from the pictures
here the users can find their old friends or even their relative unexpectedly.
Based on a study which was held by Jackpat to see the behavior and activity of
users of Instagram at the beginning of 2016, the activities of sharing pictures
or moments of the users of Instagram during that time was about to 50%. It was
around 48% from 100%. This percentage is in the third rank among being a media
for online shopping and being a tool in order to see some funny pictures. The
percentage itself can be seen thoroughly by seeing this picture below, it is
in the third point which represents the
percentage related to posting moments of the users especially in terms of
travelling moments through Instagram;
The figure above
indicates that there are some popular activities done by the users of Instagram.
The results are doing selling and buying becomes the top rank reason of users
in using Instagram which shows the highest percentage among other
activities. Sharing moments especially
in relation with sharing moments during traveling also takes place in the three
top rank grounds of the wearers’ activity in Instagram which also indicates the
high percentage. It is in the third
position among the ten excuses.
This opinion becomes stronger after a study
about it was held. McCune (2011) discovered:
It is hardly surprising than many survey respondents commented on the
“sharing” aspects of Instagram. But, importantly, their responses reframe the
idea of sharing, stressing the pleasure of allowing photographs to become
objects of value to people beyond themselves. We respondents wrote about
sharing, they stressed the presence of others. “I love to share” photographs
was echoed by “ I want to share it with my friends” or “ I want to share it
with people” or “sharing photos on IG can share each other’s point of view.”
Still other respondents connected sharing with personal memory and
documentation. “I just love to capture a moment, share it with others, and
cherish if forever.
In conclusion, there
are two reasons behind the success of Instagram as one of the most well-known
social media in the world. The two of them are its function as a media in
helping the users in selling and buying activities which can help the wearers doing
their activities easily, and it is used as a tool for sharing all the users’ moments
to everyone in their accounts, especially to their followers. These two things
become more powerful because these two things are not the only opinions.
Moreover, this statement is supported by a research held by Jackpat which shows
that these two reasons are the highest excuses of the popularity of Instagram among
the internet users in the world. Not
only Jackpat’s survey which supports these two grounds of the prevalence of Instagram
but also Jessica Wongso Putri, Zachary
McCune, and a study held by Proceedings of the 50th Hawaii International
Conference on System Sciences supports and agree these two ideas have become the
two excuses of the renown of Instagram among the Internet users around the earth.
Hi, Nurul. I love reading your essay because it has much information about Instagram’s popularity. Here, I want to give my comment about your essay. Firstly, talking about your introductory, it is already good because it consists of general sentences first and is continued by clear thesis statement which limits the topic of this essay which focuses on the reasons of the popularity of Instagram. Then, this essay also has good chronological order which makes me quite easy to understand. It begins with general and specific information, example and statistic data. Next, it is about the concluding sentences both in every paragraph and in the last paragraph of essay. In every paragraph, you put concluding sentence in the last sentence. It ends the paragraph well because by reading the concluding sentence I will know what the essay is about. Also, in an essay there is a paragraph called conclusion, your essay also has this paragraph. I think you make it by paraphrasing the main point of this essay. Besides, every paragraph is begun with clear topic sentence that talks about the reason of the popularity of Instagram and controlling idea that creates systematic essay because the content does not go out from the topic. Other comment is about unclear sentences. In my opinion, I agree with your self-comment above because you state the essay flows smoothly and the use of transition signal is quite effective because it bridges the information each other and make it unity. So, I am exactly in the same boat with you. Moreover, I do not find unclear sentences because like what I said before the sentences support each other and make it clear. The next comment is about errors in grammar and mechanics. For the grammar, so far I do not find serious problem because you use correct grammatical rule in writing. However, there are some mechanic errors that I find. From your self-comment, you find an error. It is word “long” which is typed to be “log”. I also find 3 other typo, it is “hastag”, “throgh” and “messanger”, these have to be changed to be “hashtag”, “through” and “messenger”. Then, there are two capital letter errors. Words “it” and “Polaroid” which should be typed in capital letters but you, Dear, forget to use it. Also, I feel strange about word “wearers”, is it the representation of “users”? In my view, it is not quite appropriate to use “wearers”, but correct me if I am mistaken. This is my comment about your essay. So far, we have quite similar opinion about it except about the errors. Once again, I am sorry if I am mistaken. Thank you, Dear.
BalasHapus